Sangria

Sangria is a beverage originating from Spain and Portugal. It usually consists of wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener, and a small amount of added brandy. Sangria is named after the Spanish and Portuguese word for “bloodletting” because of its typical dark-red color. (Source: Wikipedia)

X and I had our first taste of Sangria during our Europe trip back in 2011 (how time flies!) We ordered it at the recommendation of the restaurant staff, and had absolutely no idea what we will get. We were pleasantly surprised by how light the drink tasted, and loved the medley of fruits inside the sangria.

X made this pitcher of Sangria for our Spanish-themed lunch many months back – remember the paella recipe? It’s a no-brainer recipe, can be made ahead, and it’s so much cheaper than ordering it outside!

Here are the components of the drink!

Wine
You don’t need a very good-quality red wine, just one that you don’t mind drinking on its own – we got one that is about SGD 20. I have seen quite a few white wine sangria recipes out there, but I think the recipe will need to be adjusted as white wine is already pretty sweet to begin with.

Sweetener
We used Ruby Grapefuit juice by the brand Ceres. Red grapefruit juice was originally stated in the recipe but we didn’t get as it was packaged in 2-litre cartons. The grapefuit juice lighten the wine and lends a hint of sweetness to the drink.

Fruits
Stone fruits, oranges, apples and berries work well. It’s really up to you – I’d recommend fresh fruits over frozen ones as frozen fruits tend to become mushy after being thawed. Also, try not to use canned fruits – they are overwhelmingly sweet and I don’t think they will pair well with Sangria.

Brandy
Brandy was substituted with ginger ale in our recipe as we didn’t have brandy at home.

And that’s about all the ingredients needed to make sangria! It is extremely versatile and effortless to make!

Now that Christmas season is coming, I’m sure many of you are planning to host parties – and this beverage is perfect for parties as you can make them ahead of time (in fact you should make them at least a day in advance so that the flavours will infuse with the wine!) I know I’m making this for my upcoming Christmas parties!

And here’s the recipe!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Sangria

Serves 3 to 4

By Jasline N.

Servings: 0

0.511.523

INGREDIENTS

 

• ▢ 1 750- ml bottle dry red wine, we used Cabernet Sauvignons
• ▢ 1 cup red grapefruit juice, 250ml
• ▢ Peaches
• ▢ Oranges
• ▢ Apples
• ▢ Blueberries
• ▢ 1 330- ml can ginger ale, chilled
• ▢ Lemon slices

INSTRUCTIONS

• Combine red wine and grapefruit juice together in a large serving pitcher.
• Halve the peaches and remove the stone. Dice them into small pieces. Peel and dice the oranges and apples. Add the peaches, oranges, apples and blueberries into the wine. Stir and chill the wine mixture overnight (24 hours will be the best).
• Stir in the chilled ginger ale into the wine mixture.
• Place 1 or 2 lemon slices into each serving glass and top with ice. Pour the sangria over and serve immediately.

NOTES

- Use only fresh fruits - we used about 2 peaches, 2 oranges, 1 apple and 1/2 cup blueberries
- Recipe loosely adapted from Winefolly

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